Lazer Lloyd: Lazer Lloyd Review

Dubbed “Israel’s King of the Blues” for his performances of blues, folk and jazz in his adopted homeland and around the world, Lazer Lloyd returns with Lazer Lloyd, a blues project with an electric twist that is Lloyd’s latest in a long line of solo and group recordings. Though Lloyd has only been an active recording artist since 2004, he has been playing guitar since he was 15 years old. After growing up surrounded by music in his parents’ Connecticut home and feeling the pull to blues and folk in his teenage years, it’s not surprising Lloyd chose to dedicate his life to the music that fueled his childhood.

Lloyd has never been one to shy away from mixing genres, and Lazer Lloyd is no exception. The harmonica in “Rockin’” gives the track an intriguing country twang that calls the Deep South to mind while Lloyd sings simply, “I’m just rockin’, rockin’, rockin’.” Lloyd dials it back a bit on “Broken Dreams,” diving headfirst into the blues with a soulful guitar line and a quiet, easy drumbeat that consoles lyrics that speak of absolve dashed hopes. As soon as the dreams fade, he picks up the pace again with “Set My Soul Free,” a rocker with a slow introduction that evolves into a sharp rhythm-driven track. In the slow burner “Time to Love,” Lloyd brings the blues back with the type of fingerpicking that makes listeners go nuts at blues festivals.

“(Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay” comes as a nice surprise halfway through the record. Slow and melancholy, Lloyd’s version could only be further from Otis Redding’s original if he added a synthesizer or flues. Matching Redding would be nearly impossible, which is why Lloyd doesn’t try: instead, he changes the key and slows it down, transforming it into a folksy tune that stands alone from the popular original.

When the final notes of the earnest “Whole Heart” fade, Lloyd’s album stands as a technically solid and well-produced collection of 11 new original tracks and one notable tribute. Though the bluesy “Moroccan Woman” was released over a year ago as a single, tracks like “Rockin’” and “Set My Soul Free” are among the strongest rock-leaning songs on this record, released earlier this summer via Lots of Love Records.

The Review: 7.5/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Rockin’
– Set My Soul Free
– Moroccan Woman
– Whole Heart

The Big Hit

– Moroccan Woman

Review by Meghan Roos

Buy the album: Amazon